Through the Pouring Rain
by MyNameIsCAL
Summary: Itex has created Erasers with a special saliva that makes the healing process painfully slow. When Fang is bitten by one of these erasers and sustains major knee damage, things start to spiral downward. FAX!
1. Chapter 1

**Through the Pouring Rain**

By MyNameIsCAB

**Okay, I'm bored with doing the whole "Hi! I'm Maximum Ride" thing, so I'm just gonna cut to the chase. You obviously all know who Max and the flock are otherwise you wouldn't bother reading Max Ride fanfics. And just a warning, Fang and Max are probably OOC because of the Fax I'm putting in.**

I stood with Fang in the pouring rain, his arm slung over my shoulder and his free hand clamped over the side of his knee. Blood was seeping out of his pants and making the puddles around us red.

"Fang, stay with me," I whispered.

It had been a stupid idea to let the rest of the flock stay at Dr. Martinez's house when Fang and I went to follow erasers by ourselves.

"I'm not going anywhere, Max," he breathed out sharply.

Did I mention that Itex had updated their erasers too? Well, they attacked us and one of them got a good bite at Fang's knee.

"We gotta get help," I told him.

"No, just go find a place and let's look at the wound. We're no good, standing in the rain," he muttered.

Maybe going to a hospital wasn't such a good idea, but we definitely needed major help. Dr. Martinez, AKA Mom, was only a ten minute flight away, but Fang didn't look like he would be able to fly through the rain.

"Find a car," Fang murmured. "Hotwire it. I want to go to Mom."

"Fine." I didn't like the idea, but it seemed like our best option was to go home. Thanks to Jeb, we knew how to hotwire cars and drive them.

Fang's weight was now entirely rested on me. We staggered to a parking lot and found a really old looking van. Glancing around, it appeared no one was around. The parking lot was for a bus stop and the next bus didn't come until the next hour.

The door was unlocked, so I helped Fang get into the van first before I went to hotwire it. After a few minutes, I got the van to rev up and we were driving homeward.

* * *

"Mom!" I shouted, bursting through the front door. "MOM!"

She ran into the front foyer, a look of concern on her face.

"Mom…It's Fang," I explained. "An eraser bit him."

Fang moaned, his weight seeming to get heavier by the second.

"Get him to the bathroom," she said. "Hurry."

I struggled into the bathroom, supporting Fang, and he sat on the edge of the bathtub looking very pale. Taking a seat next to him, he leaned onto me.

Mom rushed in with a first aid kit, closing the door behind her as the other flock members tried to come in. The bathroom was already so small and having anyone else in here seemed like a terrible idea.

"Can you bend it?" she questioned Fang.

Fang shook his head, but Mom put her hands around Fang's leg and started to bend it. He gave a gasp of pain, his hands curling up into fists. As she bent it straight, his knuckles turned white.

"I'm going to have to take him to my office," Mom sighed.

"I'm coming," I said firmly.

She looked at me with a disapproving look, but eventually nodded. "The others are staying though."

I nodded.

"Get Fang into _my_ car," she ordered. "When we get back, we're going to have to deal with that van."

I followed her instructions and stood up, pulling Fang's arm around my shoulder. He made a weak attempt to put pressure on his bad leg, but his knee buckled and his full weight was thrown back on me. We barely made it into the garage.

"Lean on the car, I'll open the door," I said.

He gave me a small nod and I opened the door. Holding his arm, I guided Fang in before getting in next to him. Fang grimaced as he bent his knee. After a moment, he was leaning on my side again.

"Hang in there," I whispered.

Mom got in the front seat and opened the garage door. The car pulled out back into the heavy rain and she started to drive towards her vet office. I stared out the window, praying that Fang would be okay.

* * *

"The scans show there's a lot of damage. He's going to need surgery." That was the last thing I wanted to hear come out of Mom's mouth.

"Can you do it?" I asked.

"We don't have much of a choice. Bringing him to a hospital will cause too much attention. I'm going to start now. He's already been put under anesthesia."

I took a seat outside of the operating room that animals would normally be operated in. Fang wasn't an animal, I told myself with a wry smile. That thought didn't lift my spirits though.

Mom must have worked hours into the night because Angel called me several times over the next few hours asking how Fang was. The answer was that I didn't know. Finally, after midnight, Mom came out.

"Okay, we're done," she said. "He's all right now. I just gave him something to relieve the pain. We can go home now."

"Thank God," I muttered.

Mom went back inside the operating room and came out with Fang in a wheelchair. I took the wheelchair from Mom and pushed him to the exit door, waiting for Mom to finish locking up the operating room.

"There was no major bone damage," Fang assured me. "Just a lot of ligament and nerve damage. But according to Mom, there was something in the eraser's saliva that will make the healing process slow..." He suddenly winced in pain. "But I'll be all right."

So now the erasers were being created to inflict more pain. We avian bird kids were fast at healing, but now Fang was going to have to suffer. Something told me that none of this was going to go well at all.

* * *

The rest of the flock was waiting for us when we got home, even though it was really late at night. Fang reassured everyone that he was fine, but I knew all he wanted to do was go and sleep. I could see it in his eyes. Exhaustion was setting in and every now and then he would grimace in pain.

"Let Fang go to bed," I told the flock. "We'll tell you everything tomorrow. It's late. You should be asleep."

Gazzy and Nudge looked like they were going to protest, but Angel dragged Nudge to their room and Iggy said something to Gazzy that made Gazzy follow. That left me alone with Fang and Mom again.

"If there's any problem, tell me," Mom said. "You never know…Something could happen."

I hoped nothing would happen, but I nodded in response.

"You two should go to bed. I have to contact Jeb about Itex's new eraser enhancement."

To me, that sounded like a good idea. I pushed Fang to his room and pulled out some clothes for him to change into and then waited outside for him to finish.

"Max…" Fang called, letting my know he was done.

"Ready to get into bed?" I asked him, having a feeling it was going to be another struggle.

"I guess."

Once again, I slung one of his arms around my shoulders and got him into the bed. He stopped me from pulling the blankets over him. "Sleep here tonight, Max."

My heart must have skipped a beat, but somehow I protested it. "Fang, I gotta go change. I'm still all wet from the rain."

"Get one of my shirts then and I've got shorts you can wear," he muttered. "Please."

I opened his closet and pulled out a pair of his shorts and one of his black button up shirts. He turned his back to me as I changed. Then I crawled into bed next to him, his shirt feeling very comfortable on me.

"Goodnight," he whispered, drawing closer to me.

I found my head resting on his shoulder. "Goodnight, Fang."


	2. Chapter 2

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 2**

By MyNameIsCAB

I woke up in a panic because I wasn't in my own bed in my own room, but then I remembered that I had fallen asleep in Fang's bed the night before. Sitting up, I glanced at Fang. He was awake, looking right back at me.

"How's your knee?" I asked.

He closed his eyes. "Hurts a lot."

I lay back down, inching closer to him. His arm slipped around me almost casually as my head rested on his shoulder again.

The door opened an hour later, Mom came in. "I thought you'd be in here. Would you like some breakfast, Fang?"

"Yes, please," he said politely.

She smiled. "Don't bother to get out of bed. I'll just bring breakfast to you."

I sat up, not really wanting to pull away from Fang. "I'll come help you."

"No, stay here with Fang," Mom said, turning back to the doorway with a smile. "You can eat here too. The others already ate anyway."

I could feel myself smiling, almost a little embarrassed that Mom knew that I didn't want to get out of bed.

Fang suddenly grunted and I looked over at him. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he insisted, but part of me knew he was just lying to stop my worrying.

His hand made his way to his knee and he rubbed it gently. I felt bad for him. Of course, it always just happens that there's never anything you can do.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I repeated.

This time, he didn't reply. His eyes were closed in pain.

* * *

After we ate our breakfast, I got out of bed and let the flock come in and see Fang. Half of me just wanted Fang to rest, but the other half knew that the rest of the flock deserved to see him.

"So an eraser attacked you?" Gazzy asked as he came in.

Fang looked up at Gazzy. "Obviously because I'm hurt."

Well, Fang still had his sense of humor. That was a good sign I guess.

"Does it hurt?" Angel asked quietly.

Fang's expression softened. "Just a little, but I'm okay."

"Hey Fnick," Iggy grinned, referring to when Fang had been taken to the hospital and almost said his name was Fang when he meant to use a fake name, Nick. It was a joke that came up every once in a while. Mostly by Iggy.

"Hi, Iggy," Fang gave a half smile, real smiles were rare for Fang.

Questions and answers were thrown around between the flock and Fang. As the conversation carried on, Fang looked like he was getting tired again and his hand was rubbing his knee again. I was about to say something when Mom walked in.

"Okay, I think you should let Fang rest now. Come on, I made cookies," Mom announced.

Mom made the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. I was going to follow them out, but she slipped a few cookies wrapped in a napkin into my hand.

"Thanks," I said.

She just nodded with a smile and was out the door again. I went back over to the bed and handed Fang a cookie. He took it and ate it slowly.

* * *

The worst of the pain came after lunch. Mom had given Fang some pain killers, but it seemed that the pain was unstoppable right now. The pain was wearing Fang out and he eventually fell into an uneasy sleep.

Now that he was asleep, I went downstairs to see what the others were up to. Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel were sitting in front of the TV playing some video game that Mom had gotten them for Christmas which was a couple moths ago.

I took a seat next to Iggy on the couch. His eyes were unfocused, but he sat up straight as he felt me sit on the couch. "Max?"

"Yep, that's me," I replied.

"Oh…How's Fang?"

"In pain," I responded. "Not much we can do though."

Iggy nodded, his posture relaxing and eventually he leaned back on the couch pillows. "He'll be okay."

"Yea," I said, wanting to believe that so much.

"Is Fang sleeping?" Mom asked as she walked into the family room.

"Yup," I said, watching the three younger flock members argue about their scores.

Mom nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen, but she was still talking. "I have to go to the office and help operate on a dog. I'll be back for dinner. Behave yourselves."

"I promise I won't blow up anything!" Gazzy chuckled.

"You better not," Mom laughed.

I watched Iggy crack a huge smile. "I'm not promising anything."

Mom was still laughing as she said goodbye. Now we were unsupervised.

Not that I was planning on doing anything.

* * *

I sat in the kitchen alone for a while thinking. I had just realized that Ella hadn't been around for a while. Last night when we had come home, she wasn't with the flock and this morning I hadn't seen her either. That was strange.

Just as I was about to ask Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy if they had seen Ella, she burst through the front door.

"Hi Ella," I said. "Where'd you go?"

"Oh, I stayed over my friend Jessica's house for her birthday," she said. "Her mom just dropped me off. Where's Mom?"

"Office," I answered.

"When did you get back?" She asked, dropping her sleeping bag and backpack on the floor.

"Last night," I said. "Fang got hurt."

"Oh…Is he okay?" she questioned.

I nodded. "In pain, but he'll live."

She nodded and headed towards the family room, leaving me alone in the kitchen again. Looking at the clock, it had been two hours since Mom had left. I was going to check on Fang.

"Max…that you?" Fang asked as I opened the door.

"Yes," I walked in and closed the door behind me.

Fang looked up at me. "Can you get me some water?"

"Sure," I walked back out and hurried to the kitchen.

I returned with a glass of ice water and Fang drank it thirstily.

"How's the pain?" I said as I sat down next to him.

He shrugged. "It comes and goes now…but I think that's only because the medication finally kicked in."

Fang placed the empty glass on his bedside table.

"Do you want more?"

"No, it's okay."

He leaned back on the pillows he propped up and pointed at his laptop. "Can you get that?"

I got up and carefully unhooked the battery's charging wire before brining it over to the bed. "You're going to blog?"

Nodding, Fang said, "Better than lying here and thinking about the pain."

"You don't have to stay in bed," I told him. "Mom never said."

"That's true," he agreed. "But then you'd have to kill yourself getting me into my wheelchair. I know your shoulders hurt. You rub them every once in a while."

I hadn't noticed that, but now that I thought about it, my shoulders were a little sore. "You sure you don't want to go sit in the family room? Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge are playing video games."

"No, it's all right, Max," Fang assured me. "I'm fine here. Maybe later."


	3. Chapter 3

Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 3

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 3**

By MyNameIsCAB

"What are you blogging about?" I asked

"Getting hurt, evil erasers, the usual," Fang replied. "Almost done."

I glanced at the clock. It had been a while since I was downstairs.

"I'm going to check on the others. Holler if you need anything," I told him.

"Sure," he nodded and went back to typing.

Making my way down the hall, I could hear Ella talking to Iggy and it seemed that the video games system had been powered down. As I entered the family room, I saw that Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy were now arguing about the rules of a card game they were playing.

"Joker beats everything!" Gazzy protested.

"Nah-uh," Angel countered. "We agreed not to play that way."

"Yea," Nudge agreed.

"Hey, stop," I warned them. "No jokers, all right?"

Gazzy frowned and Nudge and Angel slapped high-fives.

"Next time you play," I continued. "You're playing with jokers."

Angel looked like she might protest. Gazzy was just happy he didn't totally lose. Finally, they went back to playing.

"How's Fang?" Ella asked.

I thought for a moment. "Resting."

Sure, it was a lie, but I thought it was best Ella didn't know about the blog right now. The less Ella knew, the less risk she had in becoming something that Itex could use against us. I already objected the idea being around her and Mom, but where else were we going to go? The rest of the flock was happy here anyway.

"MAX!"

It was Fang. Running, I started towards his room. Ella followed behind with Iggy. As I entered the room, he was clutching his knee in pain.

"Fang…" I got pulled the blankets off of him.

"It hurts!" he wailed.

Usually, Fang wasn't the one to overact about pain and injuries, but he really looked like he was in pain.

"You're gonna be all right," I tried to calm him down. "Fang, look at me."

His eyes were closed in pain, but he forced them open, looking up at me. Breathing heavily, Fang let go of his knee. His eyes closed again.

"God…that effing hurt," Fang muttered.

"You're okay now," I assured him. "You want some water…food?"

"Water…would be nice," he took in a sharp breath, his hand shooting to his knee again.

"I'll get it," Ella offered.

"Thanks," I nodded.

Iggy followed Ella out of the room, leaving me along with Fang.

"Jeez, you scared me," I said to Fang.

"I'm sorry…but I thought my knee was going to explode or something," Fang sighed, opening his eyes again.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," I told him.

He shrugged.

Ella brought back a glass of water along with a full jug of ice water. Fang drank thirstily, and then lay back down. I removed the laptop from the bed and replaced it on the desk.

"I think Mom is home," Ella suddenly said.

"Why don't you go get her?" I said.

Fang started to protest. "I'm fine."

"No you're not," I told him.

He opened his mouth to protest, but pain must have hit him again because his hand was back on his knee. Letting out a deep breath, I sat on the edge of the bottom of the bed.

"What's wrong?" Mom asked, coming in.

She went over to Fang and had hushed conversation with him. I didn't try to listen in. Something told me there was a reason they were talking in hushed tones. Finally, Mom stood up. "We're going to try a stronger dosage for his pain killers."

"Okay," I said, watching Fang swallow a few pills.

"I collected some of the saliva from Fang's wound. I'll look at it tomorrow at the office," Mom went on.

"Okay," I repeated.

PAGE BREAK!

"Mom wants to know if you want to eat dinner in the room or at the table," I asked Fang as he woke up. "It' just about ready."

"I'll go and eat at the table, if you don't mind," Fang said.

"I don't mind," I told him.

And so once again I struggled to help him into the wheelchair. Fang grimaced as he bent his knee getting in the wheelchair. Somehow, I had a feeling that any pain killers weren't going to do anything for him.

I pushed Fang down the hall and to the kitchen table. Everyone else was already sitting down and the food was in the center.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," I apologized.

"No problem," Mom told us. "Okay, dig in."

We passed the food around. I realized I was really hungry now. The pain must have really depleted his energy because he ate a ton. Now that he was eating, his winces and grimaces were few.

PAGE BREAK!

"Goodnight, Fang," I said after I helped him into bed.

My shoulders totally ached because Fang had to take a shower today and getting him upstairs was hard. Getting him into the shower had been the easy part. Although Fang had showed me gratitude for helping him up the stairs by letting me wear his shirt again.

"You're not going to stay here again?"

I looked at him. Last night, I thought he just wanted the company. Fang and I had kissed a couple of times, but we were always dodging each other. I'll admit that I was totally in love with him, but sometimes Fang could be so difficult to deal with. Maybe the pain was softening him. There was a part of me that was starting to like the lighter side of Fang.

"You sure?" I asked.

He nodded. "C'mon Max, what're you afraid of?"

I was afraid that getting too involved with Fang would hurt me. Part of me wanted to only love him like a brother, but a bigger part wanted him to be more.

I slipped into bed next to him, turning off his bedside light. After a little while, I felt his head on my shoulder. Slowly, I moved my arm over his chest until I was almost hugging him.

"Goodnight, Fang," I whispered into his ear.

Even in the darkness, I could feel him smiling. "Goodnight, Max."


	4. Chapter 4

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 4**

By MyNameIsCAB

"Max, wake up!"

I pulled away from Fang and opened my eyes to seem Mom standing over me.

"What?" I muttered, rubbing my eyes.

"We gotta pick up Jeb from the airport," she explained.

"And we have to come?" I question incredulously.

"Yes, because he needs to talk to all of you and then we drop him off elsewhere. It's not safe for him to come to the house," Mom explained. "Wear your pajamas for all I care. Bring a jacket or something for Fang. It's a little chilly with the rain."

I looked at the clock. It was about three in the morning and I wasn't happy about getting up to go see Jeb. After a moment, I woke Fang, explaining to him that we had to go and it wasn't an option to stay. Tiredly, I got Fang into his wheelchair, grabbed a jacket for him, and wheeled him to the garage. He made no signs of protest.

"Why do we have to go?" Gazzy whined.

"Because Jeb needs to talk to all of you," Mom sighed. "Trust me, if I had a choice, I'd leave you all here."

"Why should we trust Jeb?" Iggy asked.

"Yea," Nudge piped up.

Mom gave another exasperated sigh. "Get in the car. All of you. Max and Fang will get in last. Climb into the back."

Ella, Iggy, and Nudge took the back three seats. Gazzy got in with Angel and they shared a seatbelt, and then I helped Fang get in, folding up the wheelchair and putting it in the trunk. I got in last, sitting next to Fang feeling squished.

As we pulled out of the garage, Fang's head fell onto my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

"Fine," he murmured, drawing a little closer to me.

I rested my hand on his knee and started to massage it a little. The muscles felt tight and I heard him let out a little sigh of relief as the muscles started to loosen.

"Thanks," he said into my ear.

I nodded a little and looked out the window into the darkness.

The ride to the airport was pretty silent. No one said much. Most of the people had fallen back asleep. I couldn't tell if Fang was asleep or just had his eyes closed, but Iggy was definitely awake because he and Ella were exchanging quiet conversation.

After I thought I could no longer bare sitting in the car any longer, Mom pulled up to the airport. She parked in the parking lot.

"Max, go help Jeb with his things," she told me. "I'll wait here."

I opened the door and Fang removed his head from my shoulder.

The air stung and it was cold. Colder than the weather should ever be in Arizona, but I headed towards the airport anyway. Rain was drizzling and now I remembered that I hadn't brought a jacket for myself.

"Max!" Jeb exclaimed.

I was not happy to see him at all. He was standing with his bags, looking no different from when I saw him a couple months ago for Christmas when he stopped to visit.

"Hi," I said unenthusiastically, picking up one of his bags. "Let's go. Dr. Martinez is in the parking lot."

I never called Dr. Martinez 'Mom' when Jeb was around. He followed me out the door. To my horror, it was now pouring outside.

"Crap," I muttered.

"Did you say something?" Jeb asked, stepping next to me. "I don't have an umbrella."

"Then I guess we'll have to get wet," I remarked. "Let's go."

"We should wait, see if it stops," Jeb suggested.

Out of my own stubbornness, I shook my head. "Let's go. I want to get home and so do the others."

"I see," he agreed and followed me into the rain.

By the time we reached the car, I was soaked to the bone and shivering. I opened the trunk and threw Jeb's stuff in. He got into the front seat next to Mom.

"Are you okay?" Fang asked as I shivered again.

"I should be asking you that," I replied quietly.

He shoved something into my hands. It was his jacket.

"Well, put it on," he muttered. "I'm not cold."

I pulled it on and then put on my seatbelt as Mom pulled out of the parking space. It seemed like the rest of the flock was awake now that Jeb entered the car. After all he's done to us, we didn't trust him. Not a bit.

"How are all of you?" Jeb asked, turning to face us.

Fang grunted, Gazzy shrugged, and the others had no response.

"Well, I need to inform you that Itex has started to regroup. They know Fang has been injured and he could possibly be a prime target," Jeb explained.

"And you couldn't just call us?" I sighed.

"Max, we can't risk having our phone conversations or emails watched by Itex or the government," Jeb reminded me. I didn't want to admit it, but he was right.

"But you could have just told Dr. Martinez," I countered.

Jeb let out a deep sigh. "You don't understand. I need to ask you something in person."

"So then ask!" I almost felt like shouting.

Clearing his throat, Jeb spoke. "I wanted to ask your permission to take Fang so we can take a look at his wound."

"How long?" I asked. Fang looked at me like I was considering it as he sat up straight.

"He'll be coming with me to California," Jeb answered.

I pretended to think for a moment, building up some suspense for Jeb. "No, Jeb."

"But, Max…"

I said, "Why should we trust you?"

I could hear Fang let out a sigh of relief, slouching back into the seat.

"We could help Fang," Jeb protested. "Please, Max. Why can't you just help us?"

"Again, why should we trust you?" I repeated.

He fell silent, turning back to face the windshield.

"Jeb, you're wasting our time trying to do something you know we won't agree to," I told him. "Why don't you understand?"

"I'm trying to help you," he said again.

"There is nothing you can do to help us," I replied.

The rest of the car ride was silent and we dropped Jeb off in front of a hotel. I had a feeling that this wasn't going to be the last of Jeb we would hear of, but at least we were heading home.


	5. Chapter 5

****

Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter-5

By MyNameIsCAB

As we arrived home, the sky was now lightening and the sun would soon rise up, but we were all tired and ready to sleep again. Once Fang got into bed, his eyes closed and he fell asleep. I listened to his breathing before I slipped into darkness too, my head lingering near his shoulder.

I woke up a couple hours later, still feeling exhausted. Fang was still deep in slumber. Getting out of bed, I headed downstairs. On the kitchen table was a note from Mom that said she had headed to her office. Rubbing my eyes, I stumbled into the family room and sat on the couch. Iggy and Nudge were sitting on the floor, watching the news. I guess Iggy was listening, but you get the point.

"Anything interesting?" I yawned.

"No," Iggy answered. "Just more fires, tornados, and strange weather. Nothing new."

I yawned again and spread out on the couch, stretching my legs.

"Is Fang still asleep?" Iggy questioned.

"Yea," I answered. "Better asleep, if you ask me. He'll suffer less pain."

"Sure," agreed Iggy.

I watched the news caster ramble on about the weather. His boring speech was actually putting me back to sleep because I dozed off for a moment.

* * *

--One Week Later--

Fang had started walking again. Of course it was a slow limp and it was much faster to push him around in a wheelchair, but Mom liked the progress.

"I'm going to bed," Fang muttered.

"Need help?" I asked.

He shook his head and hobbled out of the kitchen. The flock and I had been sitting around the table after a late dinner just talking about different things. I guess Fang was exhausted because he had flown for the first time since he got hurt.

Gazzy yawned. "I'm tired too. I think I'll go to bed."

"Goodnight," I told Gazzy.

He ran out of the kitchen, much faster than Fang. I bet he even passed Fang in the hallway.

Nudge and Angel went to their rooms a few minutes later, which left Iggy and I with Ella and Mom.

"I have this feeling that the pain is going to come back," Mom said. "I sent the saliva from the eraser to Jeb because there are things that only he can identify in the mixture."

I held back the urge to protest letting Jeb help. "I wish that wasn't true."

"Just keep an eye on him," Mom sighed. "It'll probably happen at a really inopportune time."

Knowing our luck, Mom was probably right.

* * *

I lay awake in my own room. Since Fang had regained some strength, I decided to that he should get his own space for a while. Besides, I didn't want to give the others the idea that anything else was going on.

Staring at the ceiling, I could hear the buzz of the air condition. The shower was running upstairs and I assumed it was Mom because she always took the last one after everyone was in bed.

I fell asleep listening to the whine of the shower, drifting off into a state of dreamless darkness.

* * *

--One month later--

"Mom, I'm fine, let me go with them!" Fang protested.

"No, Fang. If you get hurt…" she trailed off as he began to protest again.

"I'm useless staying here," he told her. "They need me."

"I'm sure they can get along without you," Mom said. "Come on, Fang."

"Actually, Mom," I turned to her. "We might need Fang."

She frowned. "Max…"

"No, I'm serious," I said, trying to keep a straight face. I didn't exactly like to rebel against my Mom, but this was sort of fun. "There are some things that only he can do that have saved our lives so many times."

Okay, that was a lie. I knew it was dangerous for Fang to come, but I had this feeling that if he didn't come, we would be screwed. Even the Voice had told me that Fang needed to come, of course without a reason why.

"Fine," my mother sighed. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

Fang turned to Mom. "Thank you."

And then we unfurled our wings and were up in the air, heading towards the government headquarters where Jeb was working. Itex had somehow discovered Jeb had a saliva sample from one of their eraser and now they wanted to stop him from trying to find a way to reverse the effects that the saliva had.

Jeb had soon figured out the effects were permanent on Fang's knee until he could find a way to reverse everything the saliva caused. It was possible, Jeb had promised. I hoped so because even know Fang was still in a lot of pain. He was hiding it, but the pain was wearing Fang down and even now I could see it in his eyes.

So Jeb had set off to work to try to figure out a cure, but there was an inside source where Jeb was working and now Jeb along with his other coworkers were being held hostage. I decided that we better go save Jeb.

"Why hasn't the government tried to save him yet?" Iggy asked.

"I don't know, Ig," I answered. "They could be there for all we know."

We flew for a couple of hours before landing to get some food. After that, we were in the air again. Jeb was only another two hours away.

* * *

We landed behind some trees near the facility. There were a couple of erasers patrolling the outside. I heard Fang swallow next to me. We watched them for a moment. They seemed to be just standing in one spot.

But the one at us.

Oh, crap.


	6. Chapter 6

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 6**

By MyNameIsCAB

I watched Fang back away a little. Maybe he was scared, or maybe I was just imagining that, but either way he was backing up slowly.

"Fang…Why are you backing up?" I asked as the eraser moved slowly towards us.

I watched Fang swallow. "That's the one…you don't remember do you?"

I took a good look at the eraser and remembered him. It was the one that had bitten Fang a month ago. Part of me wanted to charge out and get revenge, but the better part of me knew that would be risky. In all truth, I totally didn't want to end up like Fang.

I took a step forward, decided that I would let the eraser come to me, hoping the others would move away from the entrance to the facility. This could be a distraction. I could lure the erasers away while Fang took the others inside. Plan A had been to sneak in, but we didn't know there would be erasers outside. I always prepared with Plan B.

And that plan always meant that I would be at risk.

So I would go distract the erasers, Fang would sneak in with the others, and hopefully I could get away before I was either bitten or shredded into pieces by the erasers. I knew the rest of the flock wouldn't like Plan B, so that's why I didn't tell them.

"I'm gonna distract the erasers," I told Fang as the eraser drew nearer. "Go in once there's an opened entrance."

He looked at me, his mouth about to open in protest. I could see his jaw clench and unclench again and again until he nodded, stepping forward again.

The eraser finally charged at us and I took off into the air, a few feet out of the erasers reach. I could see that the other erasers were now heading in my direction.

"Afraid of me, Max?" the eraser snarled. "It's time to get rid of you! I would have killed you if your stupid companion didn't get in the way the first time."

He was referring to Fang and he was probably right. I might have been a goner if Fang hadn't gotten hurt.

"I ain't afraid of you!" I shouted.

"No? We'll see when I BITE YOU!" the eraser advanced, signaling the other erasers to come and attack me. Apparently, I was the target right now. Fang had disappeared with the others in the flock, heading towards the building. Looks like Plan B was working.

I flew some more, leading the erasers into the trees. They were spreading out in the trees, trying to figure out where I would land. Eventually, I flew to the other edge of the woods faster than they could follow me and plummeted towards the trees, landing softly on the ground. There were no other erasers in sight, so I took off and headed towards the facility.

It was easy to find the flock once I got inside. Nudge was hacking into one of the computers near the entrance inside.

"Well, what did you do to the erasers?" Iggy asked.

"I made them get lost in the woods," I answered. "They think they're searching for the place where I landed."

"You'd think Itex would make them smarter," Gazzy shook his head. "Except Itex is too busy trying to hurt us."

"Yea," I agreed quietly as Nudge paused her typing to read something.

She started to talk. "There's nothing on here. It seems the computer was wiped of its data."

"Then why are we still here, let's go look around?" I decided.

No one seemed to have a problem with that idea because they followed me into some poorly lit hallway. The walls were thick and there was that smell that we all hated. The smell from the School.

"Jeez, can we get out of this hallway?" Fang whispered.

He seemed really on edge now. We finally reached a door. I went to turn the doorknob, but it was locked. Just our luck, right?

"Ig," I said. "Time to work some lock picking magic."

He nodded as I lead him to the door. Pulling out a few things, he started to pick the lock. After a few seconds, almost like magic, the door swung open and Iggy was grinning. It had been a while since he picked a lock.

"I think that's a record," he announced.

"Sure, whatever you say," Nudge rolled her eyes.

Stepping into the room, it just looked like a plain old office. Then I noticed that the rug on the floor was moved and a trap door was revealed. Bending down, I opened it.

"We're not going down there, are we?" Angel asked nervously.

"Unfortunately, we are."

And then down we went.


	7. Chapter 7

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 7**

By MyNameIsCAB

It was a long way down because I didn't see the ladder we could use to climb down until after we hit the ground. Luckily, almost all of us had used our wings to make us fall down slowly. Guess Fang was the unlucky one because he hit with a thud and a swear word.

"Are you okay?" I asked, feeling the walls for a light switch.

"Just fine," he muttered.

I hoped he handed hurt his knee, but I guess now wasn't the time to worry.

The lights suddenly flashed on and it took a second for my eyes to adjust to the brightness. There was nothing in this room we fell into. In fact, it wasn't a room. It was actually a hallway.

"Whoa…Where are we?" Gazzy asked.

The hallway looked new, the hospital smell very strong, but we were going to find Jeb whether we liked the smell or not.

I guess the only way was forward, so forward we went. We were heading towards the only door in the hallway, the one at the end. When we reached it, the doorknob turned without a problem and we stepped in, cautiously.

"It's nice to see you here," a voice said evilly.

The voice was familiar…Marian Janssen. The evil mastermind behind Itex. I couldn't believe that she was here in person to come after Jeb.

"Where's Jeb?" I asked.

"Still very demanding, are you, Max?" Janssen said.

"Where the hell is he?" Fang growled.

I glanced over at him. He was leaning on his left leg, all the pressure off his injured knee. It worried me now, but now wasn't the time to say anything.

"Are you hurting, Fang?" Janssen questioned, taking a step towards him.

"Where's Jeb?" I repeated.

Janssen didn't even respond to me. She took a few more steps towards Fang. I wasn't liking this situation anymore. Slowly, I moved next to Fang.

"Because Fang," she continued. "If you cooperate, I can take that pain away from you."

Fang glared at her and spoke through gritted teeth. "I'd rather be in pain then help you."

That was my Fang, toughing everything out.

"Fang, you don't understand," Janssen explained. "If you don't cooperate, the erasers will hunt you until you and you're friends are dead."

Fang straightened up a little. Threats to the entire flock made us uneasy, but Fang wasn't going to give in that easily.

"And you'll get Jeb back."

Yea, like that would make Fang throw himself at Janssen so Jeb could be safe. All of us would rather walk away alive, even if it meant not getting Jeb back like we had intended.

Fang evened out the weight he was putting on his left leg. He was putting pressure on both legs. Maybe he was okay.

"Where's Jeb?" he repeated my question now.

"Well, he's just fine. Either he gives us back what is rightfully ours or you cooperate," Janssen sighed, "and no one gets hurt."

This wasn't a negotiable situation. Fang knew that and he wasn't going to let Janssen's words mess with his mind.

"Why do you want that saliva sample?" Fang asked. He was buying time as Angel slipped behind Janssen.

"Because if Jeb finds a cure for you, then my years of research will be ruined and I'll have to start with a new formula," Janssen answered.

Fang ran his fingers through his hair, looking exasperated. "Take me to Jeb. Let me talk with him and maybe we can work something out."

I hoped Fang wasn't seriously thinking about handing over that saliva sample Jeb had. Not only would Fang suffer more, but we would satisfy Jeb into thinking that we needed him when we don't.

"Fine." The Itex director nodded. "But only you come."

To my surprise, Fang agreed, waving Angel away as he followed Marian through the door and out of view.

"What?!" Gazzy exclaimed. "What's he doing?!"

I shook my head. "I don't know, Gaz."


	8. Chapter 8

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 8**

By MyNameIsCAB

Fang came out with Jeb a few minutes later. "Let's go."

"What?" I questioned.

"We handed over the sample, Max," Fang sighed.

Marian came out the door, using her walkie talkie to make all the erasers leave. Their mission was accomplished, they got what the needed and so they were leaving. Janssen didn't even say anything as she walked out of the room, holding the sample.

"You're joking," he said.

"No, he's not," Jeb cut in. "We handed it over because risking our lives for it isn't worth it."

My gaze met Fang's and he nodded.

"Look, you don't have to stay but I got empty rooms," Jeb said. "I spend most of my nights here so there's rooms and stuff. Most of the staff goes home, but I watch over this place. You're welcomed to stay for a night, at least. It's a little late to be flying home."

Jeb was right. It was going to get dark soon and while flying in the dark was fun, it wasn't exactly safe to do across a long distance. We were all tired too.

"Okay, Jeb," I agreed. "One night only."

He nodded and lead us to an elevator which took us to the bedroom quarters.

"I can't believe you handed it over," I whispered to Fang, almost angrily.

"Max, I realized that we're going to need Jeb alive if we're going to fix me," he said. "If Jeb dies, I mind as well just learn to deal with the pain and crawl into a hole."

Fang was probably right. I didn't want to need Jeb's help, but I guess we didn't have a choice either. He was probably the only person willing to help Fang.

And suddenly Fang staggered forward, grabbing onto me for help.

"Fang…" I grabbed his arm, trying to steady him.

He leaned against the wall, clutching his knee. "God it hurts."

"Mom said…"

"Yea, I know what Mom said," Fang closed his eyes. "The pain's going to keep coming back, I know."

After a moment, he stood up, trying to move forward by himself. I knew he wouldn't make it ten feet and I pulled one of his arms around my shoulders, helping him down the hall.

"Fang, are you okay?" Jeb asked, unlocking the doors to the rooms for us.

"Yea, I'm just tired and the pain…" he trailed off, not wanting to say so much to Jeb. "I just want to rest."

Jeb nodded, not pressing the matter, and moved on to another door. I helped Fang into the room and let him sit on the bed. He lay down, closing his eyes.

"Go onto our backpack and pull out that canister of pills," Fang told me.

"Where did you get pills from?" I asked.

"Mom…gave them to me for when the pain gets really bad," he explained. "Not that it will totally get rid of the pain, but at least numb it for a while so I can sleep."

I wondered how bad Fang was really hurting. Probably more than his expression showed and I felt bad. I searched through our bag and found the canister. I found a bottle of water and handed him one pill. He swallowed, with the water, and then moved over so I could sit on the edge of the bed.

"Maybe Jeb can get us some food," I said.

"Yea, I'm hungry," Fang said. "He owes us that for saving his ass."

I smiled, glad to see that Fang still had his sense of humor.

"What're you smiling at?" he asked accusingly, but there was a smirk across his face.


	9. Chapter 9

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 9**

By MyNameIsCAB

Jeb got us some pizza, which I guess, was better than having no food at all. We sat in an unused conference room. Gazzy was spinning around on the chair as he ate his pizza. Angel seemed amused and Nudge was talking to Iggy about how cheese is made.

"Fang…are you okay?" I asked, watching him pick at his pizza slowly.

"Yea, I'm fine…just…exhausted," his free hand found mine and squeezed it. "Stop worrying."

* * *

I lay awake listening to Fang's unsteady breathing. For some reason, it didn't feel safe to fall asleep in a facility that Jeb was running. The last time I checked on him, he was asleep in his own room, classical music playing in the background.

But sleep did find me eventually and I slept until Fang was shaking me awake. He still looked tired, and he was limping, but he talked to me like nothing was wrong, so I didn't pester him with questions.

"So let's get out of here," he said. "I can't stand it here. We gotta get out."

"I know," I nodded, getting our things together. "Are the others awake?"

"Yep. I told them to get ready to leave," Fang said with a half smile.

I smiled at him and got out of bed, running my fingers through my hair trying to make it look like I didn't just roll out of bed.

* * *

We bid farewell to Jeb, heading back to Mom's I guess. We didn't really have anywhere else we needed to be, and Fang was probably in a lot more pain than he would ever admit to us.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?" Jeb asked.

"No, I like the fresh air," I told him. "Flying is better for the environment."

Jeb seemed annoyed that I had said that, but we all waved goodbye and unfurled our wings.

* * *

Arriving at Mom's, she seemed glad to see us as we all filed in. I watched Fang straighten up and walk in without limping. He headed towards his room. As Mom turned her back to him, he started to limp again.

"So Jeb lost the sample?" Mom asked.

"Yea, Fang handed it over to save his sorry butt," I frowned.

Mom sighed. "Well, at least everyone is safe."

"Yea, I guess," I agreed.

The others were heading to their rooms. It had taken us a long time to get here and the sun was already setting. No one seemed to care there was food waiting for us on the table.

"You're not happy, are you?" Mom asked.

"I don't want Fang so suffer anymore," I admitted.

"No one does," Mom said, taking a seat.

"But Jeb is the only one willing to help reverse the affects of the saliva, so Fang decided to save Jeb," I explained to Mom.

"It was probably the right choice," Mom said. "Come and eat now, Max."

I sat down next to Mom as Ella came in. She smiled and said hello to me, telling me she had seen all the others in the hallway. They were all now filing back into the kitchen, thanking Mom for cooking food for them. Fang came in last. I could tell he was hiding the pain away now because he looked more tired.

But Fang survived dinner and retreated to his room early, even though the rest of us were sitting around talking.

I went to go check on him. He was sitting on the bed, massaging his knee.

"Hey," he threw one of his shirts at me.

I smiled. "Thanks. How're you doing?"

"Okay…" he sighed, grimacing as he moved his knee. "Just hurts a lot. Nothing new."


	10. Chapter 10

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 10**

By MyNameIsCAB

Fang almost slept until noon. I guess the flying had worn him out. Even after he woke up, he seemed pretty out of it.

"I'll bring your food here. Don't bother getting up," I sighed as I started to leave his room. "Don't kill yourself walking to the kitchen."

"Thanks," he said hoarsely, laying back, and closing his eyes.

I stumbled into the kitchen, realizing that I was tired too, and fumbled to get some food onto Fang's plate. I managed to get back to his room without spilling any food on the floor.

"Here," I yawned, placing the food on his bedside table. "I gotta go eat with the others."

He nodded and started to pick at his food. Honestly, I didn't expect him to each much. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he just fell asleep and forgot to eat any of it.

"Where's Fang?" Angel asked me.

"Eating in his room," I responded. "He's really tired."

I half expected Angel to enter my head and start a conversation with me, but she didn't, and part of me was relieved, even though I knew she was probably reading my thoughts.

Ella and the rest of the flock filed in for lunch. Everyone seemed to be tired, so that made me feel better after I totally missed the piece of meatloaf I was trying to pick up with my fork.

"Wow, you guys all act like your on drugs or something," Gazzy joked as he stuffed his mouth with meatloaf.

Mom gave Gazzy one of those _I didn't think that was funny_ looks, but he laughed anyway.

"So how's Fang?" Mom asked me as the others finished up their food and put their plates in the sink.

"I think he's really hurting. He couldn't get out of bed," I said in a hushed voice, not wanting the others to hear or worry.

Mom sighed. "That's what I figured. He'll probably be like that for the next few days."

"Yea." It made sense, I guess. I didn't want Fang to be stuck in bed all day, but it's not like he had a choice.

"I guess the best thing we can do for him is just try to keep the pain off his mind. Don't let him think about it too much or it will seem like it hurts more," Mom told me.

That made sense too.

* * *

Jeb showed up a couple days later. He wanted to take a blood sample from Fang, hoping they could find the eraser saliva in it. Fang hesitantly let Jeb take blood from him.

"Okay, all done," Jeb said after he had finished drawing the blood out of Fang's arm. "It's best you eat something now."

I brought in a plate of food and it looked like Fang was forcing himself to eat it. He looked pale today. Or maybe it was just because Jeb had just taken all that blood from him.

"So, are you going back now?" I questioned Jeb, sitting on the edge of Fang's bed.

"Yes. My team and I need to start working on this right away," Jeb nodded. "Why, do you need something?"

"No, I was just wondering," I replied. That was the truth. I just wanted him out of here.

Jeb stood and stored the blood in some kind of case. "You know, if you ever encounter another eraser, you should try to get a sample or something."

I didn't believe what I was hearing. "Jeb, we don't intend to ever go near any erasers again unless it's necessary. I doubt Fang would want us to go through any trouble to get saliva."

"We could just bring you a whole freaking eraser," Fang offered.

"That would be great." Jeb obviously didn't get the idea that Fang was being sarcastic. But he was leaving, so neither of us said anything.

I didn't understand how Jeb thought we trusted him, after all the lying he did to us.

"What a jerk," Fang muttered.

"Yea, I know," I agreed, lying down next to Fang as he moved over to make room.

We lay there, staring at the ceiling. It always amazed me how the ceiling could occupy time so much. All we were doing was staring at it, and somehow, I thought if we didn't have ceilings, the world might just come to an end. I don't know how many times I've stared at the ceiling, deep in thought.

"I think I'm going back to sleep," Fang murmured, leaning his head on my shoulder.

Even after he was long asleep, I still lay there, my eyes fixed on the ceiling, but my thoughts somewhere else.

* * *

**Please visit a website I made for all my fanfictions. I'll give you the latest updates about when the next chapters are coming and other news. You might find some interesting facts there. The link is on my profile.  
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	11. Chapter 11

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 11**

By MyNameIsCAB

Fang turned to his normal self a week later. He still seemed a little tired, but he was up and mobile again.

Mom decided that we were all going to see a movie together this weekend, so we all crammed in the car and headed to the local theater. I don't think any of the flock has ever really been in a real movie theater, so it was sort of exciting.

We got popcorn, soda, and candy before headed to go sit. We were seeing The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger's last performance. I heard all about his death. It sounded tragic. Now that I thought about it, it was sort of creepy watching him.

"I bet you could kick Batman's ass," Fang whispered in my ear as his head dropped onto my shoulder.

I smiled as he took my hand. "Yea, I bet you could too."

PAGE BREAK!

"Fang, it's over," I said.

He had fallen asleep. After all, we had gone to a late movie and he was already exhausted coming in.

"What? Oh sorry I fell asleep," he apologized.

"That's why there's DVD," I grinned.

He stood up slowly, wincing as he put pressure on it. We were still holding hands until we reached the light of outside the theater. Even then we hesitated to let go. Fang gave me a tired looking smile as we hurried to catch up to Mom and the others.

"Did ya see that part when he burned all that cash?! That was insane!" Gazzy asked Fang.

"Yea, sure," Fang lied, giving me a questioning look with a half smile.

"Man, I wish I could see," Iggy sighed.

"Don't worry, I fell asleep," Fang whispered to Iggy and he started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Gazzy asked.

"Nothing," Angel said. "You'd just get angry."

Gazzy frowned as Nudge joined in our laughter. Even Ella was laughing.

* * *

The next day during lunch, there was a big storm and the power ended up going out. Thunder must have struck one of the electrical lines according to Mom. It always happened when there was a storm.

"Gosh, it's so hot," Nudge complained.

"No duh!" Gazzy grumbled. "The A/C is powered by _electricity_!"

"Hey, be nice, Gazzy," I frowned. It had been a while since I had to tell them to stop fighting.

"Sorry," Gazzy sighed.

We sat in the family room with Monopoly now. Originally, we had planned to spend Sunday going another movie, but Mom didn't want to drive in the bad weather.

"One hundred fifty for rent with all my hotels!" Gazzy cackled as Angel landed on one of his properties.

She sighed, looking at her very sad stack of cash. "But I don't have one hundred and fifty dollars."

Casually, Fang dropped one hundred dollars on the floor. "What are you talking about Angel, you dropped that."

She picked it up happily and paid her brother with a smile. I think she and Fang had exchanged thoughts, which of course, none of us could here.

"Since when are you Mr. Nice?" I asked Fang.

He shrugged then answered with a smirk. "Since when do you care?"

I rolled my eyes as Fang rolled the dice and landed on free parking, claiming all the money that had added up in the middle of the board. He took a five hundred dollar bill and handed it to Angel. She looked so happy now.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Gazzy complained.

"What's not fair?" Iggy asked, looking a little dazed. When it was his turn before Ella's, he had moved his piece in the wrong direction and off the board.

"It's my money, and I can do what _I_ want with it," Fang told Gazzy. "Besides, Mr. Tycoon, you have all of our money."

It was nice to see Fang being nice to Angel. Normally, he wouldn't have said anything or tried to help her. He just wasn't that kind of guy. Well, so I thought.

He handed me the other five hundred dollar bill under the table. "The next twelve spaces are owned by Gazzy. No matter where you land, you won't be able to pay for his rent."

"Thanks," I said, taking the money.

He nodded and handed me the dice. Like he said, I landed on one of Gazzy's spaces and paid with the money Fang had given me. Eventually, Gazzy ended up winning because he would never land on the spaces we owned and none of us ever made any money. But that was okay. It was fun while it lasted.

But after another week went by, Jeb was back with information about Itex. I hated how he always managed to rain on our parade. It would have been nice if we could have had a month at Mom's, but somehow, that didn't always work.

Jeb wanted to send us to Hong Kong where Itex supposedly had a new kind of headquarters where they were manufacturing new erasers. Somehow, I didn't want to trust him. Hong Kong was far and different. We wouldn't understand the language. I hoped it wasn't some sort of trap.

We didn't know if Jeb was on our side or not. Maybe it was all pretend. Fang certainly didn't want to go to where more erasers were being made. He probably wouldn't admit it, but I knew he was scared of them now.

"Max, you have to stop them from creating erasers there," Jeb had insisted. "Why can't you trust me?"

Well, gee, there are a lot of answers for that. I'm sure between Fang and I, we could give about a million. Add the flock in and you'd have a billion answers why we wouldn't trust Jeb in a million years.

But I looked Jeb in the eye and simply frowned. "Because you're a liar, a traitor, and a back stabber."

He looked hurt, but I didn't care. Jeb deserved to be hurt. He had damaged us more that we would ever damage him.

"Do you want my help, Max? Do you want to help Fang?" Jeb questioned.

"Yes, but that doesn't require putting him or anyone else in danger," I snapped.

Jeb sighed. "Then leave Fang behind."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Next chapter is coming real soon, I promise!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 12**

By MyNameIsCAB

I wasn't going to leave Fang behind. He would totally hate me for the rest of eternity then. But I told him what Jeb had said as we lay in bed.

"You wouldn't leave me, would you?" he asked.

"No, of course not," I said.

"Good," he said and then turned to face me and kissed me.

* * *

Last night I had fallen asleep thinking about how Fang had kissed me. The last time he had done that, I had gotten flustered and flown away. I was surprised I had been able to contain myself from bouncing off the walls in excitement. It was amazing I even fell asleep after that.

"Good morning," I almost sang as Fang opened his eyes.

He gave me a little grin. "Morning."

"How's your leg today?" I asked, sounding a little more serious.

"It's okay," he sighed. "At least I was able to sleep last night."

We got out of bed and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Fang pulled out his medicine and placed a couple of pills on his plate. What they were for, I could only guess that one was for the pain. Mom supposed had been talking to her friend who was a doctor. A people doctor, not an animal doctor.

"Waffles today," Iggy said, placing a plate piled with waffles in front of us.

"Sweet!" Gazzy said, already taking one.

Mom had been a little hesitant to let Iggy cook. But I think she got the idea that whenever we had the chance to cook our own meals, Iggy usually did it since I have the worst cooking skills in the world and I'm sure the others are just as bad.

Bacon, eggs, and more waffles were added before Iggy sat down.

"Thanks, Iggy," Mom smiled.

He shrugged and started eating. "I think these need more butter."

"No, the waffles are great," Ella said softly.

No one commented on that. They were great. I haven't had waffles in what seems like forever.

"Okay, so what do you want for breakfast tomorrow?" Iggy asked.

"Pancakes!" Angel said.

That meant grocery shopping had to be done. Which meant that I had to do it because Mom would have to go to work. Joy.

* * *

"Where you going?" Fang asked as I started towards the garage.

"Grocery shopping for Mom. She's dropping me off and then picking me up during her lunch break," I answered.

"Can I come?" he asked, limping towards me.

I nodded. There was no reason to say no.

We got in the car. Mom was looking through some files from her office.

"Fang's coming with me," I told her.

"Okay, that's fine," she said, placing the files on the passenger seat.

It took about ten minutes to get to the grocery store. Mom was going to leave us there for two hours because she had to go to work. During her lunch break, she would drop us off back at home.

"Okay, bye, Mom," I said as we got out of the car.

"Bye," she said with a wave. "See you later."

We headed into the grocery store.

"Hey, we got two hours to kill. Wanna grab something to eat first?" I asked Fang.

He nodded and we headed over to the sub shop inside the grocery store. We ordered out sandwiches and sat down to eat them.

"I have to get my prescription filled again," Fang told me. "That's why I wanted to come."

"You don't have to give me a reason why you wanted to come," I said to him with a smile.

He smiled back surprisingly.

After we finished eating, we started to look at the list. If a regular person looked at our list, they might think we had twenty people in our family. I guess that's what happens when you have six avian bird kids who eat a ton.

"I can't believe we can eat all of this," Fang said as I placed a few gallons of milk in the cart.

"We aren't even half way through the list," I remarked.

It took us the rest of our time to get everything and wait in line. The cashier gave me a strange look as we kept loading stuff onto the conveyor belt.

"Feeding an army?" she asked, sounding almost suspicious.

"Just a small one," Fang said, sounding like he meant.

The cashier frowned as she scanned the milk. It took a whole ten minutes for her to get everything scanned.

"Do you have a membership card?" the cashier asked, now sounding more bored than annoyed.

I handed it to her and she swiped it. "Your total is three hundred eleven dollars and three cents."

I gave her the debit card Mom had given me. Fang started to put the bags into the cart so we could wheel it out when Mom came to pick us up. We could barely fit everything.

"I gotta go to the pharmacy. I'll be right back," Fang said.

Pushing the cart near the exit, I waited for him. He came back holding a bag.

"Got everything?" I asked.

He nodded and we headed outside. It was raining now.

"Great," Fang muttered, stretching his leg. "Where's Mom?"

Her car pulled up in front and we loaded the stuff into the trunk. When she pulled up on our driveway, there were cop cars surrounding the house.


	13. Chapter 13

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 13**

By MyNameIsCAB

"Jeez, what happened?" Mom said, getting out of the car.

Ella was standing outside with Iggy and the rest of the flock. She started heading towards me.

"What happened?" I asked.

"See that guy that's handcuffed? He shot our windows and clipped Iggy with a bullet," Ella answered. I looked at the handcuffed man. He was no doubt an eraser, but I kept that to myself because Ella didn't need to know that. "The cops arrested him and Iggy is being bandaged up."

Looking over at Mom, she was speaking to a couple of cops.

"They're just collecting the bullets from inside," Ella added. "Then we get to go back in."

I walked towards the ambulance with Ella. Fang followed closely behind.

"Excuse me, you can't be over here," the paramedic said to us.

Iggy peaked over the paramedic's shoulder. "No, it's okay. They're family."

The paramedic nodded and let us by so we could talk to Iggy.

"Hey, man," Fang said. "Where'd you get hit?"

"Side of the thigh," Iggy sighed. "Just graze me. Paramedic said it's gonna be sore. Not that my pain will ever amount to yours."

Iggy began to laugh, but it was obvious Fang wasn't amused.

"Sorry, you don't gotta be so serious," Iggy frowned.

That's when a smirk went across Fang's face. "Just kidding, man."

Iggy smiled and pushed Fang in the shoulder. "You're such an idiot."

* * *

Fang and I were sitting at the kitchen table the next morning. We watched Iggy limp in.

"I would have gladly taken a bullet than be bitten by an eraser and deal with all this pain," Fang muttered.

"You'd still be in pain if you got shot," I remarked.

He shook his head. "But I would have recovered from that."

"True," I said. He did have a point.

Iggy sat down and stretched his leg. Even though he was blind, he somehow located Fang and fixed his sightless eyes on him. "I don't know how you can put up with all the pain that eraser bite gave you because I can't even deal with my leg being so sore."

"Sometimes I wonder how I deal with the pain too," Fang replied.

Something told me Fang was serious about that.

* * *

Jeb contacted me again about Hong Kong. I knew that the erasers had to be stopped, but going that far wasn't an option. First of all, I wasn't going to go on an airplane for eighteen hours. I also wasn't going to fly there either.

"But Max, you do want to save Fang, right? Stopping these erasers…"

I cut Jeb off. "Saving Fang does not require me going all the way to Hong Kong. The erasers can come after us and we'll be ready to fight. Why are you so convinced that we have to go to Hong Kong?"

I seemed to have left Jeb speechless for a few seconds. "I just hope you know what you're up against."

"Of course," I answered.

"They're going to start coming after you soon," Jeb went on.

"And we'll be ready," I said. Actually, we probably wouldn't be ready because you can never be prepared for anything entirely. I think I've learned that already.

I hung up on Jeb. If what he was going to say next was that important, he would have called back already.

* * *

Jeb was probably right about the erasers. They were going to eventually come after us. Being at Mom's house would no longer be safe and eventually we would have to leave. I couldn't image putting Mom or Ella in danger. They didn't deserve to get hurt. Obviously, we would have to be on the run again.

"So we're going to have to leave." That was a statement, not a question, from Fang as we sat together watching a baseball game.

I nodded. "Yea. We can't risk putting Mom or Ella in danger."

He sighed. "I guess it's best that way. Where are we going to go?"

"I don't know. Anywhere but here. Somewhere erasers won't find us." But finding somewhere they couldn't find us was probably going to be impossible. I think Fang knew that too because he didn't reply for a long time.

When he finally did, it sounded like he was unsure. "We should leave soon."

Fang was right. The sooner we left, the less chance we had of Mom and Ella getting hurt. The only thing I didn't understand why Itex was wasting so much time hunting Fang and us. Didn't they have better things to do than try to create the perfect eraser?


	14. Chapter 14

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 14**

By MyNameIsCAB

"You're leaving…" Ella sounded hurt.

I nodded. "It's for your safety, Ella. But I promise we'll be back."

She hugged me. "Bye, Max."

I squeezed her back. "Okay, good bye, Ella. Call me whenever you want."

She nodded and we waved goodbye to her and Mom. Turning away, we unfurled our wings and took off. We dared not to look back because somehow that would just be too painful.

* * *

We were headed to New York. At least there we could wander the streets unnoticed. The city wasn't exactly the ideal place for us to be, but at least we could blend in until we found a place more permanent. It was probably best that we kept moving around so that we wouldn't be as easy to track by the erasers.

"Please tell me we're not going to stay in some dumpy hotel," Iggy muttered.

"What do you care? You can't even see?" Fang asked.

Iggy sighed. "It _feels_ gross."

"Looks gross too," Gazzy added.

"Okay, enough, we'll find a nice place to stay, all right," I sighed.

* * *

"Max, I'm hungry," I heard Angel whine.

"Burger King," Fang pointed to.

"Okay, okay, we'll go eat," I said.

We landed behind Burger King. After everyone told me their orders, Fang and I tried to memorize all of them as we went to order.

"How can I help you?" the cashier asked boringly.

"We need five hamburgers all with French fries, one salad, four Cokes, one bottle of…" Fang abruptly stopped, grabbing onto my shoulder.

"One bottle of water, a Sprite, and that's all," I finished, grabbing Fang by the arm. I pulled out some cash, and paid. Fang was still leaning on me.

"Jeez, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yea, I think so," Fang said, letting go of me, putting pressure onto his knee which I knew was hurting him again.

"Go sit, I'll get the food," I insisted.

He shook his head and stood there stubbornly. I watched him shift his weight back to the other leg, grimacing.

"Go sit, Fang," I muttered as the cashier gave us a strange look.

"I'm fine, Max," Fang replied through gritted teeth.

Grabbing the food, I watched Fang limp back to the table with one of the trays. Gazzy grabbed a hamburger and began to devour it. Something told me we were going to end up buying more food.

Fang pulled out a bottle of Advil from his pocket. I guess Mom decided that the other pain medication was too strong. But then again, I didn't think Advil was going to help Fang any.

* * *

We were flying again. Fang silently flew beside me.

"How bad is it?" I questioned him.

He avoided looking at me.

"Fang…" I said his name.

"It's bearable," he answered finally.

Something told me that he was lying to me because he dropped back, leaving me in the lead alone.

* * *

We stopped somewhere near Chicago, getting two cheap hotel rooms that were in decent condition. The rooms were even connected by a door.

Fang was sitting on our bed, the bottle of Advil on his nightstand.

"What's up with the Advil?" I asked.

"It's not addicting," Fang answered. "Mom thought it would be safer. But it doesn't have long lasting relief."

I almost laughed. Fang getting addicted to pain meds, yea right. He hardly seemed like that kind of person. And even if he did, I guess we wouldn't know since he's Mr. Invincible to emotions.

"Max, I'm hungry again!" I heard Angel call from the other room.

Rolling my eyes, Fang chuckled. "Room service?"

"I guess so," I sighed.

* * *

We ordered room service. Fang had already fallen asleep by the time the food had arrived.

"Fang, wake up," I said quietly. "Fang."

He muttered something I couldn't understand.

"Food, Fang," I told him.

Rubbing his eyes, he sat up. He stood up, wincing, and headed to the other room where the food was.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 15**

By MyNameIsCAB

We were flying through the rain. It wasn't that nice summer rain, but it was a kind of cold rain. Fang seemed to be avoiding me. Every time I tried to talk to him, he'd drop back and start talking to Iggy.

_He doesn't want you to know how bad he's feeling_, I heard Angel say in my head.

_You shouldn't be reading his thoughts,_ I replied.

_Sorry,_ Angel gave me a sheepish smile. _But I thought you'd want to know._

I nodded at her. At least I knew Fang was hiding it from me, and that it wasn't something else bothering him.

* * *

"Good ol' New York City," Iggy said, taking in a deep breath. "Smells the same."

Fang landed between Iggy and me. Stumbling forward trying to get his grounding. Ever since he got hurt, I don't think I've seen him land perfectly.

"I freakin' hate landing," Fang muttered, stretching his legs.

* * *

We ended up at some cheap, but decent, hotel a couple blocks from Times Square.

"Yo! I'm hungry!" I heard Gazzy complain.

"Yea, me too!" Nudge chimed in. "Max…Aren't we gonna eat dinner?"

I sighed. Part of me wished we were back home with Mom.

"Okay, we'll go out and eat," I finally replied after Angel invaded my head with hungry thoughts. Iggy sat on the couch quietly, Fang on the opposite end with his eyes closed.

"I don't think he's okay," Iggy spoke so only Fang and I could hear.

"I don't think I'm okay either," Fang murmured.

Iggy's eyes found me. "Max."

"Yea, okay Iggy. I don't know what to do," I blurted out.

He looked a little shocked. "And since when do you, the great Maximum Ride, not have a plan?"

* * *

**Okay, I know that was really short, but I promise Ch.16 will be longer. I figured I would put up what I had already.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 16**

By MyNameIsCAB

"This damn rain," Fang frowned as we stepped out into the streets of New York.

"Language, Fang," I muttered.

He glared at me for a moment before his eyes flickered away. We reached the curb, getting ready to cross. He suddenly grabbed my arm, his eyes closed.

"Fang…"

I realized why he had stopped. Somehow, standing at this curb with the rain coming down around us, was just like the day we had escaped the erasers.

"Sorry," he said, avoiding my eyes.

"No, it's alright," I shook my head. "Honestly, I don't like standing here too."

We crossed the street finally, now soak and wet from the rain. We crowded into some diner and we were seated quickly by a waiter. His nametag read Bill. He passed out menus, holding one in front of Iggy.

"Well, you gonna take one?" Bill asked impatiently.

"He's blind," Fang muttered. "We won't need one for him."

Looking embarrassed, Bill took the menu and retreated back to the kitchen.

We ordered from Bill a few minutes later. I had made everyone order normal human portions so we wouldn't cause attention. The diner was empty as it was only eight in the morning now.

"So what's the plan?" Fang questioned, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes.

Again with asking me about plans. It was time to make ups something. "Stay dry. Maybe a new hotel."

"Ha that bed wasn't comfortable," Fang smirked.

"The couch was like sleeping on a rock," Iggy added.

"Yea, okay, I get it," I sighed.

Fang ran his fingers through his hair. It looked slicked back from the rain. It felt uncomfortable to be all wet like this.

"So we came to New York to torture ourselves?" Gazzy questioned.

"It seems like that," Nudge said.

"Yeah…" Angel trailed off.

"Enough, okay!" I was tired and cold. This was not helping at all.

Fang suddenly sat up. "We should go to California."

"Why?" I asked incredulously.

"Because it's warm. We can find some place to stay," Fang replied.

"May I remind you we're on the other side of the country?"

"We'll be closer to Mom anyway if something happens," he added.

Perhaps he was right. But I wasn't just going to agree that we were going to fly back to where we came from.

"I'll think about it," I finally answered. "Even if we go, we still have to spend some time here."

Fang slouched back in the seat. I exchanged glances with him. I made a note that I would talk to him later.

* * *

We found a more comfortable place. A hotel right near Times Square. We were able to get two adjoining rooms. Fang lay on the bed. We were all finally showered. The clock read 8PM, but I was ready to go to sleep already.

"Why California?" I asked.

"Because it's too cold in New York. Makes my knee hurt," Fang answered, leaning over to turn off the light.

"I forgot about that…" I replied. I should have known the weather wouldn't be good for him.

"It's okay," Fang answered, pulling me closer to him.

He whispered in my ear. "Good night, Max."

I leaned my head against him. "Good night, Fang."


	17. Chapter 17

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 17**

By MyNameIsCAB

We sat on a bus to Chicago, tired and exhausted from flying. The best way not to be noticed by anyone was to go into the city as a tourist. And in cities, we'd also be less noticeable since you could find way more freaky people than us. It was the reason we were choosing a city to stay in for the night.

"It's still cold here," Fang complained.

"You'll be fine," I frowned.

I felt Angel tugging on my sleeve.

"I know you're hungry, Angel. But we have to get to a hotel first." I was losing my patience and it was showing now.

"We can eat first, it's fine," Fang grumbled.

Angel glanced up at him and shook her head. I had a feeling she was reading his thoughts. She took her seat next to Nudge two rows away.

"I hate how she does that," Fang muttered, his eyes closed.

* * *

We all crammed into one hotel room. Fang, Iggy, and I checked in. The others came through the balcony. We were trying to save some money.

"So who gets the bed?" Gazzy asked.

"Fang, of course," Nudge answered, looking a little sad.

Fang frowned. "You, Gazzy, and Nudge can fit on it."

Nudge and Gazzy gave each other high fives and jumped onto the bed.

"You can have the couch," Iggy offered. "I can sleep on the floor. Maybe you and Max will both fit."

It took a minute for Fang to decide, but he finally sank into the couch. Fang was tired. He'd be out before dinner.

"I'll take everyone to get dinner. Do you want anything?" I sat down next to Fang, awaiting his response.

He didn't respond right away, so I thought he had managed to fall asleep already. But he spoke, his voice sounding strained. "I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat." Loss of appetite wasn't a good thing.

"I know." But Fang sounded like he already made his decision. I'd probably bring back food for him anyway.

* * *

It's late. Fang and I have managed to squeeze onto the couch. His arms are wrapped around me, his body pressed against mine. At least Iggy would get the blanket this way. I could hear Fang breathing into my ear.

"Do you ever think we might just die one of these days? Like Ari?" His voice is a low whisper. I know he doesn't want to hurt me by asking. "Do you think we have an expiration date?"

"Yes," I answered, truthfully.

He squeezes me a little closer. "Just wondering."

I know that's not all he's thinking, but I won't press on. If he wasn't going to tell me, I wouldn't ask him until later. I felt his chin rest on my shoulder, his head resting on top of mine. He's probably thinking about how much longer he has to live. The thought hadn't crossed my mind and I was just glad to be here with him now.

* * *

The sound of Iggy cursing as Gazzy kicked him in the chest woke me up. Apparently Iggy had forgotten he was on the floor and stumbled into the bed, falling on Iggy. As I got off the couch, Fang's arms limply fell to where my place had been. He muttered, but remained sleeping.

"Ig, you alright?" I questioned.

He yawned. "Yup."

Gazzy sat up in bed now. Angel and Nudge were stirring.

"Sorry, Iggy." Gazzy yawned too. I suppressed the urge to follow.

"Morning!" Angel smiled.

"Jeez, Gazzy," Nudge started. "What were you thinking?"

I can tell Nudge wanted to keep talking, with that motor mouth of hers, but Gazzy suddenly cut in. "I wasn't thinking. I forgot we weren't home."

After a moment, Iggy trudged off to the bathroom. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I looked over at Fang. He looked peaceful for once, sleeping. It wouldn't last for long. Once we started moving around he's sense that I wasn't there anymore.

_Should we let him sleep?_ Angel asked me.

"I don't know." I frowned at Fang. "For a while. We should get moving."

Angled hopped off the bed as soon as Iggy came out, and they took their turns nicely going quietly. Fang got another hour of sleep before he woke up.

* * *

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Fang was flying beside me.

I glanced back at the flock to check if they were all ok. "Because you need rest."

There was no response from Fang and I realized he had slipped back to talk to Iggy. Maybe had said something and I didn't catch it.

* * *

A storm grounded us before we could reach the edge of the city. Drenched, cold, and shivering, we hurried into a mall after landing in the alleyway. We weren't the only ones who were soaked to the bone inside the mall. A lot of the people standing near the door were all waiting out the pouring rain. Fang moved over to one of the benches and sat down exhaustedly. So much for getting out of the city today by flying. I could have let Fang sleep.

"So now what?" Fang waited, looking up at me with his dark eyes, staring right into my eyes. His eyes seemed to soften for a moment.

I breathed out deeply. "We can wait out the storm. Or we can stay here another day. Or we can get out on another way of transportation."

Fang stretched his leg out. I was waiting for his input. He didn't say anything, so I turned to the others. They didn't say anything either. I'm supposed to be the leader, but I was tired of making the decisions. The part of me that loved Fang wanted to stay, but the other part of me, the leader of the flock part of me, was saying we should keep moving. Listen to your heart can be such a lie sometimes.

"Why don't we wait it out for awhile? Then we can get moving again," I suggested.

Everyone seemed to agree with this, so I sat down on the bench next to Fang and we all stared out the glass doors with the others, waiting for the rain to subside. It was going to be a long journey to California. I could feel it.


	18. Chapter 18

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 18**

By MyNameIsCAL

Fang's arm is slung around me. As strong as I was, he still felt like dead weight. I was tired. We hadn't been able to find a place to stay and Fang was hurting badly. We had tried to search for a motel from the air, but Fang had begged me to land, so now we were walking. To know he was suffering was tearing a hole in my heart right now.

Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy lagged very far behind. Iggy grabbed Fang's other arm suddenly. I never realized I was dragging myself along too. Fang gave out a grunt as I stepped on his foot.

"Sorry." We were running on empty. The last time we ate was this morning. None of us were going to last another step. I know they keep saying never give up, but there's only so far you can go, and right now we were reaching that limitation.

"Max, I can't…" I've never head Fang said he couldn't. Now that exhaustion set in, I felt like sitting on the sidewalk and crying. But I can't because that would just bring Fang down more. As if we weren't already low enough.

"Max…Max, are you ok?" Great, now Iggy was concerned about me. I really needed to pull myself together.

"I'm fine." That's a big, fat lie. But Iggy knew that. He's not expecting to admit the truth. After all, I'm supposed to Max the Invincible.

"Does…Does that say hotel?!" Gazzy pointed.

We managed to carry Fang there. Soon enough, someone was going to have to carry Iggy and me. Angel charmed the women at the front desk to give us a room and we got in the elevator, going up to the biggest room they had available. Iggy and I set Fang down on the bed. The others had already collapsed on the other bed.

"Where's the couch?" Iggy turned in a circle.

"Your left," Fang muttered.

I looked around at the flock. All of them were already closing their eyes, ready to sleep. I lay down next to Fang and turned off the bedside light. His arm wrapped around me automatically. And then we were off to dreaming.

* * *

We were officially in California now. The beach would be a short flight away, if we really wanted to go. Mostly, we were glad for the warm weather. As much pain Fang was in, the nice weather helped.

"Ugh, my back is so sore from carrying you," Iggy yawned.

"Wimp!" I was surprised Fang would say something like that, but he shook his head at me and pointed at Gazzy.

Iggy rolled his eyes. Gazzy hadn't done that in a while. At least he was having his fun. I remember, back in the good days before Itex was chasing us, when Iggy and Fang used to get into fights over the things Gazzy would say in their voices. Except the two of them would never beat up on Gazzy. That was a long time ago. Even the times when we fought like brothers and sisters do, I missed.

"Sorry," Gazzy replied.

To my relief, Iggy laughed. Somehow we're all remembering the same thing. The best we can do is laugh, I guess.

"I miss that," Angel said, speaking my thoughts for me.

There was an awkward pause. Iggy is the first to speak. "Yeah, me too."

* * *

Fang's pain seemed to disappear after a day or two. We hadn't tried flying yet. Landing might still be rough for him. But we weren't ready for that yet. Being grounded for a while was a nice change after all those long days of flying. Everyone still looked tired.

We were sitting in the hotel room, watching TV. Nudge was half asleep, leaning against Iggy who didn't seem to mind. Gazzy and Angel were randomly going through the telephone book. Fang was snoring on the bed. Every once in a while he would mutter and turn his head. I thought about waking him up, but decided it was better to leave him be. I lay next to him, staring at the ceiling.

There was a half eaten pizza on the desk. We had already gone through three pies. The empty boxes sat next to the garbage can, looking rejected.

"Do you ever wish you could see?" I heard Nudge ask Iggy.

It takes a minute for his answer. "Sometimes. Other times, I just think that I'm already used to being blind."

"Just wondering." But Nudge has another question. "Do you think we'll find a way to cure Fang?"

"Of course." Iggy replied right away this time. "Max won't stop until we do."

I had to smile.

"She really does love him," Nudge whispered. She doesn't know that I can still hear her.

"Yup, she does."


	19. Chapter 19

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 19**

By MyNameIsCAL

If someone gave you the chance to save the person you loved, would you risk your own life for them? Would you dive head first into danger, plunging into the depths of the unknown? Would you walk in a completely different and opposite direction of where you were heading? And would you walk away from that person you loved just to save them? Why must things be so hard?

"I'll give the cure to Fang if you give yourself up," Marian Janssen said.

I sat in a café, alone with her. Right now, I was supposed to be getting food for the flock. The thing that scared me was that I was actually considering it.

"And what will you do with me?" I asked.

She paused. "Experimentation."

I could endure that. I could save Fang. And then his pain and suffering would be over.

"But how do I know you won't come back and hurt the others?" I had to ensure everyone else's safety too.

"Unless they come after you, we won't attack them," Janssen said. I couldn't believe I was negotiating face to face with her. I'm surprised I hadn't knocked her out yet.

"And how do I know the cure works?"

"It will. He'd notice right away. I promise." She sounds desperate now. "You inject it into him, and then we'll take you away."

"So can I have a day or two?" I raised an eyebrow, thinking she would say no.

Marian Janssen nodded. "Alright Max. You have two days. But we'll be watching you. You better not give yourself away."

I nodded and she handed me a box with a syringe inside.

"As soon as you inject him, we're coming to get you."

I nodded again and walked away, putting the box in my pocket and picking up my food.

* * *

Fang and I sat on the balcony of the hotel room. I have the syringe inside my jacket pocket, ready to inject him. Right now, it's time to say good bye.

"Fang, if something ever happens to me, don't come after me, ok?" I said.

He stared at me blankly. "What makes you think of that?"

I shrugged. "I'm just saying. And Fang, I love you."

"I love you too, Max."

I leaned over and kissed Fang. I slipped my hand out of my pocket and pushed the syringe into his leg. He pushed me away just as I finished injecting him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Fang was breathing heavily.

I shook my head. "Goodbye, Fang."

And then I was gone. Something swooped down and grabbed me, knocking me out.

I was consumed in total darkness.

* * *

---Back at the hotel room---

Fang stood staring out at the sky. Bending down to pick up the syringe, he realized the pain was gone. He bent his knee again. _Damnit, Max. Why'd you do this for me?_

"Fang! Fang! What happened?!" Iggy staggered to the door.

Clutching the syringe in his hand, Fang turned to Iggy. "She's gone…"

And then for the first time in his life, at least in front of the flock, he began to cry.

* * *

---The next morning, Fang's POV---

It didn't set in until morning that Max was gone. And it hit, like a ton of bricks, plunging down onto me, as I stand helpless and unshielded. The spot on the bed next to me was empty. I felt that tug at my heart a little. Again, I felt like crying. Something I never ever felt like doing before.

"Damnit, Max," I whispered to myself. She loved me enough to let herself go like that.

And now I would have to live with that guilt.

Iggy woke up a few minutes later. He sat up. "You awake, Fang?"

My voice is hoarse. "Yeah, Ig."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry."

We were going to play the blame game now. First we would blame ourselves, and then blame Max, and blame something else, before blaming ourselves again. Even when it was nobody's fault, we'd still find something, or someone, to blame. Blame out of guilt.

"There wasn't anything we could do," I answered.

We don't say anything else. Silence, as they say is golden. Even during the worst of times.

* * *

---Somewhere, Max's POV---

I woke up on a cot. My head hurt a lot and I had almost forgotten last night's events. Unless time had went by since then, and then it wouldn't be last night. But you know what I mean.

A tray of food sits on a table that is bolted to the floor. I'm in something like a jail cell. Once again, I am a prisoner of Itex. The only good thing is that I'm not in a cage. After that, there's no more bright side to any of this. Oh, well except the fact that I saved Fang.

Taking the plastic fork, I pick at my food. It's still warm, so it couldn't be that old. I'm not hungry and the food is bland. After a few bites, I put the fork down and lie down on the bed. My head was pounding.

And the only thing I could do was try to get some more sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 20**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV---

As of now, I'm the leader. And even though everyone else is falling apart, they're still looking up at me. I felt guilty. But I was the oldest, and Iggy was blind, so that really only did leave me to lead. Yet, I didn't deserve to. I let Max get away too fast. She saved me, and now I was going to get her back. Even though she told me not to, I was going to save her.

"Where are we going?" Nudge asked. "Can we go home? Because I'd really like to so Mom and Ella. And Max would have wanted to go home if she lost you. Well, at least I think so. Fang, are we gonna go after her? You're not going to let her get away are you, because I've been thinking…"

I held up a hand to silence her. She closed her mouth. Why did I get the feeling everyone but Iggy was a little afraid of me.

"Yes, we're going home, Nudge," I tried to say gently, but it still came out rough.

Max had the only cell phone we had in her pocket, so calling Mom right now was out of question. None of us had the phone number memorized either. Shame on us.

* * *

---Max's POV---

Marian Janssen stood behind the other side of the bars of my cell. It was like being in jail. Like in the movies, and she was coming to make a deal with me. Except, I'd already made a deal already. So maybe I was being brought somewhere.

"Hello, Max," she said flatly.

I didn't reply. Even though I agreed to this doesn't mean I had to make this easy for Itex.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

We got to Mom's house at dinner time. Even though all my pain was gone, the landing was excruciating. The perfectness of it was going to kill me.

I let Iggy walk through the door first. In fact, I marched right to my room. The room I shared with Max. The room I _used_ to share with Max. Mom was asking questions, but I didn't answer any of them. I was too tired, but my brain was still wired, thinking of all the things I could have done to save Max instead of watching her go. Unintentionally, I slammed the door to my room.

And then I got into bed and fell asleep.

* * *

It was strange waking up without Max, like a whole part of me had just become disconnected. I climbed out of bed and started looking for clean clothes to wear. Falling asleep in the clothes I had been wearing for a few days straight wasn't exactly the best idea.

There was still a scar along the side of my knee from where the eraser bit me. I let out a heavy sigh as I pulled my pants on. At least the pain was gone. At least…

I made my way to the kitchen. Iggy was already there, sitting at the table. His head propped up on his hand, eyes unfocused as always.

"Mom took the news pretty well," Iggy muttered. "Considering she could have had a breakdown or something. But she's not the type to do that."

"Yeah," was all I managed to say.

* * *

---Max's POV---

The scientists have me running laps and lifting weights. As if they don't know I can't do that. But at least they're not poking me with needles. That would be worse. Sometimes they'd have me fight erasers. I could deal with running and fighting. But there was something else eating away at me, and I couldn't deal with that. Not for long, anyways.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

"Maybe you should talk to Jeb."

I stared at Mom blankly. "No."

"He knows the most about Itex. How else are you going to get Max back?" She was going to end up winning the argument, and I knew that. I just didn't want to give in that easily. Just for my own personal pride, which was stupid, but it's a guy thing I guess.

"How do we know Jeb won't lead us into a trap? And then we'll all be gone!" I shouted.

Mom looked hurt. "Don't say that."

I realized my fists were balled up and I unclenched them slowly. "Alright, we'll talk to Jeb."

* * *

Jeb showed up faster than I liked. In fact, he was there within five hours. That was creepy. I wonder where he had been and what he was doing.

"Hello, Fang," he greeted.

I replied with a nod.

"Do you want to sit in the kitchen?" Mom asked. She was being polite.

"Sure," Jeb nodded.

I led the way into the kitchen.

"So Max gave herself up to save you, I hear," Jeb began. "And you want my help to get her."

"Yes," I answered through gritted teeth.

Iggy sat down to my right. "Only if you're willing to."

"And you must know where she is, at least," I continued. "Since you've been in and out of Itex for years."

"I know a few places," Jeb seemed to be contemplating something.

"And in return, you get the satisfaction of busting Max out again," Iggy added on. "We don't have much to offer you. And we are certainly not going to give ourselves up to you."

"I wasn't going to ask for anything." But Jeb is lying. I can tell.

"So where do you think she is?" I pressed on. If he wasn't going to tell us anything, I was going to find a way to force it out of him.

"There are a couple places Itex has in secluded areas. Some government facility in Nevada. It's sort of like Area 51, except no one really knows about it." Jeb shifted in his seat. "And then there's Canada. It's somewhere inland. I have a map of these places."

He was going to ramble, so I stopped him. "Continue, please, with the places."

Jeb sighed. "Somewhere between Texas and Mexico too. The last place that I know of is in Alaska."

After a moment of silence, Jeb pulled out the maps and we began planning where to go first.

We were in for a long day.

* * *

**Well I finally reached chapter 20!!!**

**I've got a lot of stuff written out for my fanfictions. I just haven't gotten the time to post it and now I do. Thanks for reading a commenting. As of now, I'm thinking of rounding off one or two of my stories since I just started a new one (Living in Max's Shadow). This one I've got an ending for. Although I'll have to wait to see where the next few chapters take me. Thanks, once again, for reading!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 21**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV---

It was getting late, but I had been up all night already. There were four places that Max could be at. I had to pick one. All the maps and information were laid out on the desk. Now that exhaustion had set in, I felt like the words and diagrams were mocking me. But I was only imagining that. I still didn't trust Jeb. What if he was leading us into a trap? Maybe it was best not to tell him where we were going.

Jeb was asleep on the couch. I had stayed up this late partly because I wanted to make sure he wasn't up to anything. He claimed he wasn't working with Itex and that he really was just getting information. But I still didn't believe him. Max wouldn't have believed him either. None of the flock would.

I collected all the papers and tried to stack them in some kind of order. If I was going to accomplish anything tomorrow, I needed to go to sleep. Even in the worst of times, sleep can't be ignored. Or I'd end up crashing.

* * *

---Max's POV---

I missed the flock. I missed Fang. I missed Mom and Ella. And this maze. It was impossible. They had me running in the dark. I couldn't see anything. If only I were Iggy. He would be good at this, being blind and all. Not that he enjoyed being blind, but there's was an upside to everything.

Everything except this.

The only motivation I have to keep going is that I get to go to sleep after this. It's been days since they've really let me sleep or eat anything. I'm being deprived of the things I need. Itex has a messed up way to test things. The only thing I was afraid of was what was coming next.

* * *

Having Jeb around was a hazard. But we needed him. He wanted me to tell him where we were going first, but I wasn't going to tell him.

"How do we know you're not planning some kind of trap?" I asked.

"Because I want to help you. Max is no good dead," he replied.

I glanced at Iggy. He was deep in thought, listening.

Then I glanced at Angel.

_His thoughts say he's telling the truth. But I still don't trust him,_ Angel told me.

I nodded and spoke to Jeb. "I'm not going to tell you. But you will help us. You're going to stay here. And when we call on you for help, you better answer, or we'll come after you."

Jeb's eyes met mine and he nodded. Well, that had been easier than I thought.

* * *

I had Mom take Jeb out to the grocery store while I sat at home, discussing our options with the flock.

"Do you Itex would do something like that in a government facility?" Iggy pondered. It was really only me and him who were talking. The others waited patiently to hear our decision.

"No, maybe not. But Itex would do anything. I thought about Alaska and the one near the border of Mexico." I leaned back on the couch, trying to sort things out in my head. Max told me not to come after her, but we were gonna get her back, even if it meant me risking my life.

"I say we go to the government one first," Iggy said. "At least we can expose them for working with the evil scientists. And it's the most likely and least likely place to go. After all, security would be the best there."

It made sense.

"So we're going there?" Angel piped in.

I nodded.

"Well, when are we gonna go? Because I want Max back!" Nudge chimed in.

Gazzy just nodded, but I know he wants Max back to as badly as the rest of us.

"Tomorrow morning," I decided.

We had to go there with all the energy we could save up.

* * *

---Max's POV---

I lay in a bed now. It's hard and uncomfortable, but it's better than the floor. I'm thinking about Fang. Knowing him, he's trying to come after me. I wish I knew where I was. But I hope he doesn't get hurt by Itex again. Or this would have all been for nothing. I'm stubborn too, but so is Fang. As much as I don't want to admit it to myself, Fang would risk getting himself hurt again.

And then I would risk it all to make him happy again.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

I'm attempting to get sleep. The entire flock is depending on me. And I hoped I wasn't going to fall apart. The truth was, I needed Max more than anything. And I was pretty sure she needed me too.

* * *

---Max's POV---

I wished I could see the outside from here. Sometimes I wished I could look up at the night sky and pick a star and stare at it, hoping that Fang would be looking up at the same night sky. But I got this feeling that no matter what I wished, I wasn't getting out of here anytime soon.

Wherever the hell I was.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

My sleep had been dreamless that night. I don't think I could stand having to dream about Max. It would be too painful. Dreams like that end up being so real. When you wake up, they vanish like water slipping through our fingers. No matter how hard you try, you can't stop it from slipping away.

Like the way I let Max slip.

* * *

**Next update probably on Monday like my other fanfics. Thanks for reading and the reviews.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 22**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV---

The desert was cold at night. The idea was to fly in the dark so we wouldn't be so easily spotted. Right now, all of us were running on our own will power and whatever caffeine we'd had at dinner. It was going to be a long night. We couldn't really stop in the desert and camp out. Unlike Max, I wasn't the best at planning, so we didn't have any water.

"Fang, I'm tired," Angel whined.

I sighed. My patience was being tested too, apparently. "We'll be there soon. Just another twenty minutes. But we'll land in ten to rest, ok?"

"Ok," Angel replied, sounding distressed. We needed to look at Jeb's map again anyway. Landing would be good for everyone.

When we did land, everyone sat down. Angel and Nudge sat around Iggy, leaning onto him. I guess in a way, he was like their big brother. He put an arm around each one.

"We'll be there soon," he told them with a yawn.

Gazzy sat next to Angel and watched me open the map. He was trying to be strong, but I could see it in his eyes that exhaustion had set in a long time ago. They were almost glazed over.

"We should be there soon. Hopefully we can fly over without anyone noticing. This base is far out of the way. They can't be expecting much," I said out loud.

"Can we have five minutes?" Nudge begged as she closed her eyes.

I agreed because Max would have given in.

"And if any of us have to be put in danger, I'm first," I added.

Iggy's eyes seemed to find mine. They were questioning, but he didn't say anything. Gazzy stretched out on his back and stared up at the sky. I looked up too. Out here, it felt like you could see the sky for miles and miles. It was peaceful. If only the rest of the world could be like this.

* * *

The facility almost seemed to blend in with the ground. The top of it was covered in sand. There were a few men standing guard outside, but none of them looked dangerously armed. Most of them sat against the outside wall, looking bored.

"How're we gonna get in?" Gazzy whispered.

I shrugged. This was why Max was the leader. I never had a plan.

"We could knock 'em out!!" Gazzy says in an excited whisper. He just wanted action. That would make us all feel less guilty, or at least get our anger out.

But Max, I'm sure, would have picked the stealthier move.

"We'll start on the side that has less light and get that guard first," I decided.

Gazzy let out a sigh, but followed me as we lifted off and landed quietly on the roof. To me, it almost felt strange landing perfectly. I wasn't used to it.

We crept to the edge of the roof and looked down. Now that we were closer, I could see the guard was carrying a rifle. He was flipping through a tiny book. Without much thought, I jumped off the roof, landing on the guard's soldiers, and knocked him out with a kick to the head. The only sound let out was a single _oof_.

I motioned for the others to follow me and bury the rifle under some sand.

There's a door right next to where the guard was sitting. I try to open it, but then I saw the key bad to the side.

Nudge steps up. It's time for her to work her magic. After a minute, the door beeps and opens. The hallways are dark. This can't be the main entrance because there's a bigger door at the end with some light. The facility has a single hallway on its first floor. Going up might be the problem.

We open some of the doors. They're all offices of some sort. Nothing that happens to scream _human experimentation_ or anything. Then we find the stairway. As we reach the next door, there's a faint smell that screams _humans_.

I push the door open and stick my head out. This hallway is lit. There's the buzz of machinery working and a conversation of two men in the room next door. We open the door across from the one we came out of. It's empty.

"I don't hear anyone else's thoughts except ours and the two men," Angel told me. She sounded scared, as if I might get mad at her.

I let out a sigh and open a few more doors. There's nothing here. In the next five minutes, we've opened all of them. Right now, I wished we had beaten up those guards. But there's no sign of Itex here. I got that feeling coming here had been a big mistake. A waste of time.

Damnit.

* * *

---Max's POV---

I've been trying to figure out where I was. But there weren't any windows in this place. The only thing I knew was that this place wasn't hot like Texas. Most of the people that worked here passed my cell wearing normal clothing and then passed back with lab suits. All of them walked in saying how the weather was getting colder. That was the only hint I got. Wherever I was, I wasn't near home.

It's been two days, at least I think, since the scientists have done anything to me. Only one of them told me that they were deciding what to do next. I got the feeling some of them wanted to pick me apart, but then others wanted to test my other skills before I was killed.

Either way, I wouldn't be around much longer.

* * *

**I'm thinking Wednesday or Thursday for the next updates on all my fanfics. Thanks for reading.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 23**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV---

We're in some motel. I forgot its name already, but the others are sleeping already. The maps of the other Itex places are laid out in front of me. The next one I pick needs to be the right one, or Max is screwed and the rest of flock is going to lose faith me.

As if I haven't lost faith in myself already.

* * *

Going home will be the hardest part. I decided not to call and tell Mom we were coming. It was better that way. Unlike Max, I wasn't good with all the questions and reasoning with Mom. In fact, if I had my way, we would be heading to the other place already. But I haven't decided yet, which was why were heading home.

The last place I wanted to be.

"Don't beat yourself up if we don't find her at the second place."

I turned to my right to see Iggy flying next to me.

"Because I know you're trying to blame yourself," he went on.

I wanted to ignore him, but it would only make things worse. "Yeah, I know, Ig."

He knew I didn't really want to talk to him, so he dropped back next to Nudge. They were probably talking about me now. I wouldn't be surprised.

* * *

---Max's POV---

I was sitting in an empty room. The table was bolted to the floor and I was strapped to the chair I sat in. The walls were cement. It felt like a basement, with all those cracks and holes in the wall. My eyes traced them until the door burst open and an eraser in human form, chained by his wrists and ankles, was pushed into the room. It was followed by Marian Janssen.

"Morning, Max," the eraser growled as it attempted to lunge at me, but the chains restrained him. A guard at attached them to the wall.

I didn't say anything as Marian Janssen took a seat in front of me, ignoring the eraser completely. "Max, do you recognize this eraser?"

I shake my head.

"This is the one that attacked Fang," she continued.

"And?" I asked, impatiently.

Janssen shrugs. "Once we finish with you, he will get what he was designed for from the beginning. We will let him _kill_ you."

I blinked a few times.

"Like I should have torn through you on that night in the pouring rain," the eraser chimed in.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

It's raining. Unfortunately. I've diverted the flock towards Canada. We're not going home anymore. We managed to lift an umbrella that someone carelessly left on the bench. It's large enough to fit Iggy, Nudge, and Angel. Gazzy tried to squeeze in, but he's still getting wet from the rain. As for me? I'm drenched. My clothes seem heavier with the water.

"Fang, we gotta find a place to stay," Iggy told me.

I nodded and looked around. Staying outside wouldn't be an option. And I hated rain. If I was going to choose some place to live, it was going to be somewhere like a desert. I'd be happy if it never rained again, but unfortunately it needs to rain for nature to function, so I won't be wishing anything too drastic.

"We passed a motel a few blocks ago," Nudge yelled over the rain. "Maybe we should turn back."

I let them lead me there. I'm too tired, physically and emotionally, to even think about leading anywhere else. If they knew where they had led me home at that moment, I would have followed them because I was too tired, physically and emotionally. I wasn't thinking straight either. By the way none of them talked to me as we squeezed into one room, I knew that they could see that too.

* * *

Iggy is the last one awake with me. Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy squeezed onto the one bed. Iggy is on the couch and I'm on the armchair, which is too small for me to even sit in.

"Go to sleep, Fang." I always thought Iggy should be second in command.

I sighed. "You go to sleep first."

I could almost see Iggy frowning in the dark. "You need it more than I do. I'm not stupid Fang, just because I'm blind."

"I never said I thought that," I shot back.

"I didn't say that you thought that, I'm just trying to help you out." Iggy spoke in a hushed tone. "We won't be able to save Max if you fall apart. We can't save Max if we don't have you."

I didn't believe him, and Iggy knew that, but he waited for me to answer instead of going on.

"Alright…" I had no idea how to respond.

"Goodnight." I heard Iggy turn to face the couch.

"Night." I muttered.

* * *

**Sorry for the late update. I had a long weekend. New chapters coming soon for my other fanfics too.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 24**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Fang's POV—

"DAMNIT!!!"

I picked up the table and threw it across the room. The place was empty. Whatever that had been here before had cleared out a long time ago. I needed to punch a hole through something. The table clamored to the floor and one of the legs fell off, rolling until it reached the wall.

"Fang, calm down," I heard Iggy say.

Unclenching my fists, I led the way out.

"Where are you going?!" Iggy shouted.

I unfurled my wings. "Alaska!"

* * *

---Max's POV---

"It's snowing!" One of the scientists announced as he passed my cell.

I lay on my cot. I'm somewhere cold. Somewhere with snow.

That could be anywhere.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

The flock silently followed behind me. It was getting colder and eventually we would need to stop to get warmer clothing. Going to Canada had been a stretch. Max would have called me reckless. I would have agreed with her too. Right now, I'm waiting for Iggy or Gazzy or Nudge to lash out at me. I shouldn't be leading the flock.

We haven't reached Alaska yet, but there's a lot of snow. It's a blanket over everything. Nudge is going on and on about it. Gazzy kept telling her to hsut up, but Iggy played diplomat by trying to get both sides to cooperate. Eventually, Gazzy drifted to the front next to me. He looked feeble, flying next to me.

"Fang…" Gazzy started and stopped. Iggy was the only one who really wasn't afraid of me. He tried to keep everyone happy and he knew without someone to talk to, I would have had a mental breakdown a long time ago.

"Yes, Gazzy?" I finally asked, trying not to sound impatient.

"What if we don't find Max in Alaska?" Gazzy sounds very childish. A wave of guilt hit me.

"Then we'll head back to Mexico," I replied.

"I mean, what if she's not there?" Gazzy looked like he was going to back away.

I sighed. "Then we go back to Jeb."

Gazzy dropped back. I looked down at the snow. In the distance, there were cars stuck in traffic. The wind swept the noise in our direction. I slowed down, allowing Iggy to catch up to me.

"We'll land and get some things," I decided.

He nodded. "Good call."

* * *

---Max's POV---

They have my chained to the wall by my wrists. I've examined the room about a thousand times now. It's mostly concrete, with two doors and a surveillance camera. One of the doors I came in. The other door, well let's just say I'm afraid to know what's going to happen on the other side. According to the guard that dragged me in here, I was ready to be "terminated."

The door flew open and the eraser that had attacked Fang appeared. He was chained to the opposite wall and then the guard turned to me.

"That door leads to the outside," the guard said in a monotone voice. "The fight is until one of you is dead. Good luck."

The eraser growled at me. It was transforming into wolf form. I tried to pull my chains off, but I was too tired and weak, so I sat down on the floor and watched the eraser rip one of its chains out of the wall, and thought about Fang.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

I saw the outline of the building through the snow that is pounding at us. We had managed to get some winter jackets for Nudge, Angel, and Iggy, but I was without one. Mostly because I had grown impatient, and now I was kicking myself. My entire body was numb. We had resorted to walking through the snow because the wind was blowing us off course. If the wind didn't kill me, then hypothermia would.

"Fang, look!" Gazzy shouted over the roaring wind.

I nodded and they quickened their pace. The snow was already knee deep.

* * *

The eraser couldn't break through the other chain, so he now sat across from me. Every once in a while he would spazz out, trying to break free, but he couldn't. What he didn't know was that I had a piece of metal that flew in my direction that I was slowly picking the lock with. He turned his back to me and faced the wall.

"I don't want to die," he said.

"I don't either," I answered.

He fell silent and began tugging at his chain. My first chain came undone and I set it on the floor quietly. I began to work on the other one.

* * *

---Fang's POV---

My hand was on the door knob leading into the facility. I couldn't feel my fingers anymore, but my hand still functioned, so I started to turn.

It was unlocked.

* * *

---Max's POV---

The other door that lead to the outside began to open just as I got the last chain off. A gust of cold wind burst in and shivered. There were five figures standing outside the door way. The eraser growled and suddenly ripped free from the chains.

"Max!"

"FANG!"

I watched as the eraser tackled someone, but I couldn't see who. Gazzy and Nudge were trying to pull the eraser off whoever the eraser was attacking. Without thinking, I picked up a piece of concrete and threw it at the eraser. He turned to me, blood dripping from his teeth. He looked crazed. I kicked him across the face and then he was out.

I looked at all the blood on the floor.

My heart sunk.


	25. Chapter 25

**Through the Pouring Rain-Chapter 25**

By MyNameIsCAL

---Max's POV---

Fang sat up. His left leg looked mangled. All that blood made me feel weak.

"We gotta get out of here," Fang said, calmly.

Did he not see all that blood? He wasn't going to make it out there in the cold. The snow had to be more than knee deep. But we had to go out or Itex was only going to trap us again. Fang was gripping his leg. We had run in a circle, back to where we started. I shouldn't have even bothered. I should have never left the flock in the first place.

* * *

Somehow, we made it to Arizona. Fang was barely conscious. We had managed to stop the bleeding, but he had already lost a lot of blood. The plane ride hadn't done him any good either. Mom met us at the airport. The only choice we had was the hospital, so we went. They operated on Fang while we sat in the waiting room. There was something off about the silence, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

And it was raining again.

* * *

I walked into Fang's room. His eyes met mine and then looked away quickly.

"Fang, I'm so sorry…"

He didn't answer.

"Fang…"

He looked up at me, his eyes intensely gazed into mine, full of anger almost. "Max..."

I waited for him to continue.

Fang shook his head and turned away from me. "Just leave me alone."

I didn't understand. "Fang…"

"Go away, Max."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt," I tried to reason with him. "I didn't know it would happen this way. I'm so sorry."

"Shut up," he growled.

He didn't believe me.

"Don't you get it, Max? We went in a circle, except I ended up in more pain!" he gripped the sides of his bed, the heart rate monitor began to beep rapidly. The door of his room opened and a nurse started to pull me out.

"Fang, I'm sorry," I repeated.

He tried to sit up, but the doctor was holding him down.

Fang pushed the doctor onto the ground with a swift flick of the wrist. "I hate you."

And that's when I gave up. The nurse pulled me out and told me to wait in the hallway. I walked to the waiting room, tears rolling down my eyes. Iggy was the only one there. He stood and I walked over to him. I felt like the life had just been ripped out of me.

"What happened?" He put a hand on my shoulder.

I shook my head, sobbing now. I felt his arms come around me, awkwardly. After a moment, Iggy allowed me to cry into his shoulder. His hand patted my back.

"Max, what happened?" he asked again.

I hold onto Iggy as if he's the only solid ground I have right now.

"Max," he repeated, worried.

"He said he hated me."

* * *

**The End!!!**

**For now…anyone up for a sequel???----EDITED: The sequel, titled Thunder: Back Through the Rain, has its first chapter up. Check i out if you're interested.  
**


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